


Black as Night

by demonic-figs (the_three_garridebs)



Category: Venom (Comics), Venom (Movie 2018)
Genre: Dreams, Nightmares, Other, symbrock, veddie - Freeform, venom - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-02
Updated: 2019-02-14
Packaged: 2019-10-02 23:43:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,344
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17273393
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/the_three_garridebs/pseuds/demonic-figs
Summary: Eddie has nightmares sometimes. Venom can help with that.~ Excerpt ~Eddie's hands clutch at the bedsheets. He draws in a shaky breath, unknowingly allowing Venom to cushion the back of his body. The world comes into focus. Time stops racing. Eddie’s shoulders slowly loosen. Despite Eddie’s calm, Venom is still on high alert. Something does not feel right. There is a broken connection somewhere. A frayed wire. He cannot look for it right now, but Venom promises that he will hunt it down later.





	1. the stars are distant

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Doubt, biting and sharp-edged, resurfaces in Venom’s mind. Does he belong here? On Earth?'

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> well i'm back from the dead!! this is the first chapter of "black as night," a new fic about eddie and venom's subconscious relationship. more notes at the end.

**What’s wrong.**

“Nightmare again,” Eddie says through gritted teeth. In the pitch black of the apartment, they huddle together on the bed. Venom reaches out across their mind link, tendrils of warmth caressing the knots of confusion gathering in Eddie’s temples. The whole landscape of their bond has changed. Memoriesdistorted by fear and sleep hurtle past Venom’s consciousness. Thoughts splinter through their link, too fast to be rational. Everything is out of place and out of control. 

**Try to breathe.**

“Jesus, I—” 

His hands clutch at the bedsheets. He draws in a shaky breath, unknowingly allowing Venom to cushion the back of his body. The world comes into focus. Time stops racing. Eddie’s shoulders slowly loosen. Despite Eddie’s calm, Venom is still on high alert. Something does not feel right. There is a broken connection somewhere. A frayed wire. He cannot look for it right now, but Venom promises that he will hunt it down later. 

**How are you feeling now?**

“Fine. Sorry I woke us up. I don’t know what’s happening with me.” 

**What did you see?**

There was a big _emptiness_ , just this kind of…” Eddie makes a sweeping gesture, as though shaping a bowl. “A pit. I was standing in the center of it. Waiting, I guess.” 

**Hmmm…**

“Maybe I should go to a psychic, and they can tell me what it means.”

**You know that I am capable of seeing several moments into the future, right? You don’t need one.**

Outside, the sky is turning a sour grey. Morning is approaching quickly. The sensible thing to do would be to attempt sleeping again, but Venom senses that is not on the table. So instead, through unspoken agreement, they heave themselves out of bed and begin the day. 

A sense of unsettled dissatisfaction twinges through their link; Venom is still pinched and nervous. Despite trying, it is impossible to repress the feeling. Eddie offers a half-hearted shrug in the mirror, about to brush his teeth. 

_It’s okay. Don’t worry about it._

Eddie should know by now that Venom is completely acclimatized to him. The contours of Eddie’s memories are where Venom lives, the geodic cave in which he has made a permanent home. Nothing is off limits. At least, this is how Venom views their relationship. He pushes against the porous membrane between their consciousnesses, reaffirming this fact, looking for the usual give, but there is a new hardness there. Venom materializes from Eddie’s shoulder, expression quizzical. 

“Leave it alone.”

**Eddie—**

“Leave it alone, for now.” 

It surprises Venom how much this reprimand stings. He retreats back under Eddie’s skin, wondering at the ability of a human—insignificant, insect-like—to wound him. After so many months of fluid sharing, of endless conversation…it never occurred to Venom that Eddie might not always want to be connected. Venom forces himself to put this issue aside. The main problem is Eddie’s nightmares, Eddie’s safety. He could not bear the thought of his host in fear or pain. So Venom puts the hurt out of his mind and focuses on managing Eddie around the apartment.

Throughout the day, Eddie is mostly himself. He only misses one meeting, and he assures Venom that it “wasn’t important anyway.” There is no discernible evidence that anything happened the previous night. From what Venom gathers, it seems Earth’s inhabitants are accustomed to hiding things. As they walk down the street to lunch, Venom reaches out with his senses, stretching into the minds of nearby pedestrians. Everyone has those things, he realizes. Those things, trapped behind doors, sequestered in dark corners. 

Venom wonders if he has any of these things. 

To make up for their… _disagreement_ , earlier, Eddie takes Venom to Mrs. Chen’s before they go home. Mrs. Chen is someone Venom has always liked, even if it’s a secondhand feeling picked up from Eddie. Her energy is soothing, strong, versatile. She is…good. Venom knows this, somehow.

They scan the aisles before deciding on a frozen steak meal and Snickers bar. Mrs. Chen eyes them as Eddie pushes the items over the counter. She hasn’t quite figured out _what_ Eddie is, or, more precisely, _who_ is inside of him. 

“How are you feeling? Still got that…guy around?”

Venom appreciates that she does not call him a parasite. 

“Yep. He’s growing on me, though.” 

“That’s good.” 

“No one bothering you?” 

“Not anymore. Thanks to your friend.”

**_Friend_**. Venom has never had a friend before, not really. There have been partners, companions, enemies even, but no friends. And technically speaking, Eddie is Venom’s host. Doubt, biting and sharp-edged, resurfaces in Venom’s mind. Does he belong here? On Earth? And what about all those mental niches, newly obscured from sight? Once again, Venom reaches out and feels for the lives swirling around him and Eddie. Klyntar is well-populated, certainly, but Earth is simply overflowing. Millions of kinetic energies, thoughts and impulses and agendas, intersecting and interweaving, connections tugged and tangled, in constant flux.

These musings occupy Venom until they reach the apartment. He ripples into being out of Eddie’s arm, splaying across his host’s skin black as octopus ink. Eddie bats his head affectionately as they walk into the kitchen, and Venom bites him back. Not enough to hurt, just enough to be felt. Recognition flares in Eddie’s mind, the dim outline of the sensation reflected in Venom’s own thoughts. 

**What is it?**

“You remind me of a cat sometimes.” 

**Cats are horrible.**

“Not really. They can be sweet, if you feed them. And don’t piss them off.’ 

**A cat bit me once.**

“When?” 

**You were asleep so I went out to the fire escape. A cat was there. And it bit me. Their eyes glow.**

“Only at night.” 

**It’s unsettling.**

“You’re unsettling.” 

Eddie is comfortable again. Habitable. Venom is reassured by this fact. And so he makes a plan, to protect Eddie from the nightmares. It’s not explicitly endorsed by him, but…he’ll be thanking Venom later. 

Hopefully.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the concept behind this fic was originally meant for reylo. i was going to write a rey/kylo ren fic (the draft title was "dreamwalker") about the characters exploring each other's dreams. i thought the landscape of a dream would make for a cool setting, and add a layer of depth to the telling of their relationship, since most of the events would occur in a shared mental space. after writing "mine," i realized that this concept is also applicable to symbrock! which is great! because i love writing about venom!!!!! and i think they physicality of venom--venom and eddie sharing a body--makes the concept even more interesting, since they can't really "escape" each other. anyway. i hope you enjoyed this first chapter! i will be updating as frequently as possible. thank you for reading!!!! <3 
> 
> PS. porn maybe? dream porn? idk. tbd.


	2. it's cold in space

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Venom attempts to read Eddie's dreams for the first time.

Venom has never tried this before. 

In fact, he’s not even sure it’s possible. 

Eddie is asleep on the couch, snoring through a rerun of a David Attenborough nature documentary. They have recently taken to watching educational television instead of late night. And it has helped: Venom now has reference for the appearances of several Earth creatures, and can name all the major battles of the Civil War. 

The dream has already begun, sticking and tickering like an old-fashioned projector. Venom centers himself within Eddie’s body and navigates to the chord stretching between their consciousnesses. He listens. Waits. Using this chord as a guide, he creeps silently towards the bustle and noise of a current dream. It rises before him, a swirling, hurtling mass of pitch black. Reaching inside with a tendril of himself—well, not _himself_ , a part of himself, an extension of Venom’s psyche—he parts the dense clouds of peripheral thoughts and begins probing around inside. 

Memory slipstreams gust past Venom, the fleeting miscellanea of people. Like their trash, there’s just so much _everywhere_ , overflowing, gathering in gutters, clogging drains. Venom attempts to orient himself, but it’s impossible. There is no direction in a dream. There is no order, or reason. Nonsense is the law.

So it makes sense when suddenly, the tendril unfurling into Eddie’s head brushes the wrong clod of adrenaline, and all of Venom is jerked into…

A bowl. 

No, it’s just that, a bowl. And he’s at the bottom of it. The walls are endlessly, impeccably smooth, and unfathomably high. He puts his hands around his mouth and shouts. The echoes double back into his ears, cacophonous and strange. It’s not Venom’s voice, though, it’s Eddie. He’s seeing what Eddie’s seeing, in perfect synchronization. 

They are sitting at a restaurant. 

There’s a gingham tablecloth, a tiny votive. Across from them sits a woman. She looks about average. No one Eddie would get excited about (Venom knows; they’ve walked past enough females for Eddie’s pulse patterns to become predictable.) Eddie is nervous. Actually, he is almost fainting in his seat. Venom barely adjusts to this onslaught of emotion before the woman starts screaming. 

The sound is high and loud and _long_. Venom’s whole being prickles with discomfort, and he resists the temptation to pull back completely from the mind link. This, doubled with Eddie’s growing panic, is almost too much. Venom is reminded of the time in between, when he was lost, and still looking for Eddie.

**_Why am I here? What am I doing in this human’s body?_ **

**_What is this feeling called, that is beautiful like pleasure, but so much more painful?_ **   
****

As the scream continues, Venom attempts to pin these thoughts together so that he does not unravel. He must stay focused, keep observing.

**_Snap out of it._ **

They are in a forest. 

Venom shudders, the filaments that stretch between him and his host jittering with energy, electrified with the information overload. Eddie is not doing well. A deep well of dread is growing within him, underpinning each scene. He is going to thrash awake soon. He is going to—

Crashing down the side of building. A carpet of lights below.

Falling down an elevator shaft. Its wires stretch into infinity. 

Pitching from a high cliff. The sea expands below them

They hit the water. 

Eddie wakes up. 

“Fuck! Fuck. Venom?”

The sheets are on the floor. It’s early morning, and the room is bathed in weak blue light. Eddie is damp with sweat. His mouth is slack, his eyes dazed. Instinctively, Venom flows out of Eddie’s sides, wrapping him in a serpentine embrace. He tightens his body gently to show Eddie that he’s here. Venom is briefly, absurdly proud at being warm, at maintaining a proper temperature while Eddie’s spikes and dips. 

They come out of the woods.

Eddie’s hands run over Venom’s flesh, rough compared to the symbiote’s natural slickness. He never does this. So it’s…strange. Not bad, Venom realizes, as his skin ripples in response to the contact, just unusual. The pleasant sensation reverberates in their mind link, Eddie’s mind calming slowly to match Venom’s relaxed humming. He issues a shaky laugh. 

“You like that?”

**A bit.**

Venom can hear Eddie’s heartbeat, both through his ears (well, auditory sensors), and through their symbiotic connection. After a few minutes, it settles into a more manageable pace, manageable enough for Venom to monitor.

He didn’t know. 

Well, Venom supposes on some level, he must have known. Why else would Eddie have chosen an other? How else could an independent organism acclimate so easily to hosting a symbiote? Not everyone is made for this life, Venom dimly understands. There are some beings that need to be individual, need to hear nothing but their own thoughts. Eddie is different. 

Or so he has led Venom to believe. He thinks back to the reprimand and the opaque wall that Eddie suddenly constructed following the first nightmare. If Eddie is different, then why does he demand privacy at such crucial moments? Why does he _worry_ so much about what Venom thinks of him? There are no secrets. Unconsciously, the borders of Venom’s mind begin to peel as he ruminates on this, wells of memory and impulse free for taking.

There are no secrets.

“You probably deserve better than me.” 

**Eddie…**

“I’m going to see a doctor about this. I know you feel responsible, or whatever, but it’s really not your job to keep all my shit at bay.” 

**_You have no idea…_ **

“Okay?”

**Eddie, we can help you. Make you better. Promise. No doctor.**

“What if I need medicine? Look, Venom, there are some things that you don’t get yet. Medical aid is one of them. We’re going. I’ll look into appointments.” 

Frustration flares on Venom’s end of the connection, bright and white-hot. Eddie is stubborn. This quality can save lives. It can also be very, very annoying. 

**Not necessary. Not yet.**

“Hey, calm down. I decide what’s necessary. When people are sick, they see a doctor.”

**We’re not sick.**

“I might be. This isn’t a discussion. I’ve already decided.” 

**Eddie.**

“Zip it.” 

And because it’s pointless to argue, and because Venom can probably continue with his plan regardless of doctor appointments, he relents.

**Fine.**

Eddie’s fingers flutter down Venom’s flesh, continuing their gentle exploration. 

**_Mine_** , Venom thinks. He ignores Eddie’s unwillingness to fully give in. **_Mine_**. All those dark corners…Eddie cannot hide them forever. There are no secrets. Venom vows to continue searching Eddie’s dreams, to examine every square inch of his soul for what hurts him.

Then he will kill it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> venom has this dumb, possessive way of showing that he loves eddie, but i feel like eddie always gets it. 
> 
> idk.
> 
> hope you enjoyed this chapter! i had a fun time experimenting with writing dreams.


	3. nearby orbits

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dan comes over to check on Eddie, and Eddie realizes what he has been missing all along.

_I’m a good person,_ Dan thinks, standing outside Eddie’s apartment building. 

_I’m a good person, and yet_ …he leans on the buzzer. Sixteen days have gone by with no word from his girlfriend’s ex-boyfriend. His girlfriend’s ex-boyfriend who has, inexplicably, become his responsibility. 

After a few more minutes, Eddie lets him up. Dan is nervous. He doesn’t know how to act. Eddie and him are not friends, but they’re also not co-workers, or casual acquaintances. They’re just people, who have been thrown together by life. The least they can do is make it as painless as possible.

“Dan.” Eddie stands in the doorway, expressionless. He looks disheveled. Well…more so than usual, at least. 

“Hey. You weren’t answering your phone.” 

“That’s because I knew not answering it would summon you here. Like a parole officer.”

_Off to a great start._

“Alright then. Do you mind if I come in?” 

“Be my guest.” 

Dan walks into the apartment. It’s a small place. Not dingy. Maybe shabby is the right word. Worn. He tries to shake the slight combativeness that has crept into his attitude. He doesn’t want this to turn into a an argument about Anne again. It wasn’t technically that last time, but Dan knows when he is being shamed. 

“Do you mind if I check you over a bit?”

“The problem isn’t physical, exactly.”

Eddie scratches the back of his head. He’s nervous about something. Probably a cockroach infestation. Mentally scolding himself, Dan settles onto the sofa, as though he doesn’t want to call for a fumigation service as soon as possible, as though he is perfectly comfortable being the keeper of someone he doesn’t need or particularly want in his life. 

“Tell me what’s going on, then.” 

“Nightmares.” 

Eddie’s face is completely closed. Dan’s medical instincts know that look. The patient doesn’t want to talk about what’s ailing them because…it embarrasses them. He cannot help but feel sorry for Eddie, who is standing in front of him, somehow sheepish in his own home. Always defensive, always apologetic. He’s a nice guy, and he definitely didn’t deserve what the Life Foundation did to his career. Or Venom dying. Dan does not personally give a shit about that thing (more trouble than it’s worth), yet he pities Eddie.

Everyone needs friends.

“What are they about? If you don’t mind me asking.” 

“Oh…” He hedges, running his index finger across his chin, eyes glancing out the window. 

“Just crazy shit.” 

“Eddie, maybe you should think about seeing a psychotherapist. They could really help you work through your mental trauma regarding the Life Foundation incident. And losing…him.” 

“Venom?” There’s an unmistakable tenderness in Eddie’s voice, a resonant mournfulness. So he was closewith that slimy creature, in his own way. It’s almost a love story. 

“Yes.” 

“That won’t work. Therapists don’t like me.” 

“I’m sure that’s not true.” 

Eddie folds his arms defiantly. 

How did Anne love this man, and for so long? Why was she so sure she could spend the rest of her life with him? Dan wonders this as he stares at the childish posture Eddie has taken up. There’s something about him she sees that he doesn’t, Dan decides. A hidden kernel of goodness. Intelligence. 

What is it? 

If it’s sexual magnetism, Dan certainly can’t feel it. He understands that, objectively speaking, Eddie is not _un_ attractive. He’s broad-shouldered, smouldery, rough-around-the-edges. Women like that. Or so Dan has heard. 

His Anne, though? The sensible, no-nonsense blonde, who orders plates in precisely the same way every time she loads the dishwasher? 

Implausible.

While he quietly considers the various merits and drawbacks of dating Eddie, the other man suddenly breaks the silence.

“Thanks for coming, by the way.” 

“Oh. You’re welcome. Of course.” 

Dan looks at Eddie, who is fidgeting with his hands. He needs to offer him something, throw him a lifeline. They can’t just sit here, harboring pissing-contest animosity towards each other, until they grow old and die. 

“Do you want to talk about Venom?” 

“What’s there to say? We were never supposed to meet. And when we did, I never expected him to become…anything. We made this deal…” 

“What deal?” 

“He was going to keep me safe during the symbiote apocalypse.” 

“A good deal. As they go.” 

“Yeah. He was complicated. Not just an alien, you know? Really intricate, like a person, but…he _fit._ People always say they fit together, but what they’re talking about is suppression. Being able to suppress whatever they don’t like about the other. There is no suppressing, with Venom; it’s just _perfect._ It got me thinking. Maybe, humans are born imperfect. And that’s why we’re always so fucking unhappy. We’re missing a piece.” 

Dan makes a note in his mind to send Eddie a list of professionals around the area. He wonders how the concept of a symbiote could even be broached in session.

“That’s hard, Eddie. Look, I know you may not feel ready to speak to someone yet, but I feel like you should give it a chance. You never know what could happen.” 

“Maybe.”

The doctor stands to leave, a rush of sympathy and remorse welling up inside him. Eddie is his patient, and he has a duty to make him feel better, regardless of the personal toll. That’s the oath. Dan puts his hand on Eddie’s shoulder. The moment has too many implications for either of them to successfully puzzle out an appropriate reaction, so Dan just leaves in silence. 

✘ ✘ ✘

“I’m sorry, Venom, I just had to see what he thought.” 

**It’s okay, Eddie.**

“You’re not annoyed that I basically invited him here?” 

**No…**

Venom curls up somewhere in Eddie’s chest cavity, feeling small and foolish. He thought he could fix Eddie himself. A spark of nervous jealousy flares in him, and it catches onto Eddie’s consciousness before he can stop it’s journey across the chord between them.

“Don’t be upset, V. What I said was all true, you know.”

**Perfect?**

“Yeah. Don’t you think it is? At least a little bit?”

It hurt Venom, how complete and total their bond was, how tightly they were bound to each other. His soul ached for something more. Yet he dared not put any words to this feeling. Doing so could make it all too legible to Eddie, and Venom isn’t ready for Eddie to know how deeply reliant he is. He knows he makes it seem like Eddie is receiving strength, and superhuman abilities, and he _is_ , but what Venom is gaining is so much more than any of those party tricks. For the first time, Venom has someone to love. 

Wordlessly, Venom flows out of Eddie’s forearm and lays his diamond-shaped head on the back of his hand, like he has seen cottonmouth snakes do in nature documentaries. Eddie relaxes, and the slight resistance that has built up between them crumbles. Venom suddenly finds himself through the barrier, his concern charging their connection with rolling pulsations of uncontrollable thoughts. 

**Are you sure?**

Eddie sighs. A weight slips from his shoulders. There’s relief, tension…fear. Eddie is afraid. Humans were always acting like this, afraid to be seen, to be truly seen by anyone. Venom wrangles in his own spiraling anxieties and pushes gently back.

“I’m sure. I don’t know. When I was talking to Dan, I realized that if you don’t know me, than nobody does.” 

And Venom is suddenly very glad that foolish doctor had bothered to show up outside their door. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> just in time for valentine's day! i know i haven't updated in a while, but i was experiencing a little writer's block. but i'm back, for the most part. : ) 
> 
> lmk know what you think! as always, comments > kudos. annd in the next chapter you can expect to see some actual dream-diving. 
> 
> i love dan btw so he's going to have a weirdly important role in the story. 
> 
> okay that's all for now folks. 
> 
> \- figs


End file.
